Infinitely Distracting

We pluck and strum

bow and plectrum… on strings

wind blowing across our vocal cords

our verses and refrains winging on the air

permeating the marquee walls

finding their way through the rain

out across the swampland to where wildlife resides

perhaps even a rabbit or a hare in wait lies

twitching an attentive ever-so-receptive ear

bringing us all that much closer to… the faraway near.

The air is inert but alert, poised in anticipation, for that which is to come, the day only just begun, its riches ripe and ready to be enjoyed.

The tinsel titter of morning birds. The timeless chatter of life. We are on our way again and every day is different. Then, there it is, the very thing that I have been looking for.

We come in different shapes and sizes, with different ways and tastes, displaying different airs and graces. We all have our own way to move through the day. Perhaps it is this, the secret to our chemistry, this harmonious incompatibility.

(Illustration and incidental music by the author. AI not used at all.)

We breathe air, we eat, we drink, we speak our minds and strive to listen… sometimes... Is this what being on tour is really like?

(Illustration and incidental music by the author. AI not used at all.)

It is impossible to say if any of this pondering is of importance past this point, or better said, it is clear that none of this pondering will be of importance whatsoever past this point, that is to say, past this point in time. The here and the now are more important than pondering. (Illustration and incidental music by the author. AI not used at all.)

And in this it does serve to remind

of scenes that pass and roads that wind

as into the fracas it strays

as soon as you look the other way

(Illustration and incidental music by the author. AI not ever used at all.)

. There it is before me, the levelling sea, the calming sea, the resetting sea, just being, omnipresent in morning leaves of sunlight fluttering on its skin, banishing muddle-headedness, incidental thoughts and lethargy, doubt and indecision. (Song: "Sea Song" from the album "The Faraway Near".

...and there is no arguing with that. Who was it who said, "be yourself, everybody else is already taken"? (Illustration and incidental music by the author. AI not used at all.)

To be honest, there is nothing I like better than these chance encounters of the curious kind, generally intriguing, often enlightening, sometimes uplifting, this essential contact with others.. (Song: "No Longer", from the album Through the Mirror)